Stupid Cupid
by Caillean
Summary: COMPLETE: Calliope's nephew visits the labyrinth. As always, wackiness ensues. Third in the series.
1. Prologue: The Telltale Heart

-----------------------------------------------------

The Amazing Adventures of the Muse and the Mystic

Episode One and Three Quarters:

Stupid Cupid 

By The Muse and The Mystic

Email the Muse at: uwmladybug@yahoo.com

Email the Mystic at: Caillean@cox.net

-----------------------------------------------------

  
  
Disclaimer: Just borrowing elements from EA Poe. We'll give 'em back, we swear!  
  
Prologue: The Telltale Heart  
  
Something wasn't right. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the moment she stepped through the front door of Greywolf Manor, Caillean could tell something was distinctly different. Puzzled, the slim redhead stood for a moment in the entryway and surveyed the room. The furniture hadn't been moved, the paintings were still hanging on the wall, the pink and red heart garland was woven through the banisters, and the chandelier was ...  
  
Wait a minute.  
  
Caillean did a double take.  
  
Pink and red heart garland?  
  
"Calliope!!!"  
  
There was a small explosion of shiny red heart confetti as the Labyrinth muse appeared in front of her.  
  
"You rang?"  
  
Caillean stared at the grinning muse. "Calliope, why are there hearts all over my house?"  
  
The muse grinned even wider. "For Valentine's Day, of course! Come on now, you couldn't have forgotten!"  
  
"Yes, actually, I had. But thank you *so* much for reminding me. Now then," Caillean said briskly, turning back around to face the heavy wooden door, "if you would be so kind as to remove that ridiculous garland, I have some work to do." And with that, Caillean exited the house, slamming the door behind her.  
  
"Whoa." Calliope stood for a moment, stunned. "Guess she isn't too fond of Valentine's Day. Hmm, I wonder..." In another puff of confetti, both muse and garland disappeared.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The Goblin King lounged on his throne, idly watching the goblins rolling around in the shallow pit in the center of the room. He still hadn't quite recovered from the Christmas fiasco and the New Year's party that blasted Muse had thrown everyone to try and make up for it. Not that the party hadn't been fun, but even he had to admit draining the bog and filling it with champagne had been a *little* extreme. Still, it had been amusing watching his brother get completely trashed...  
  
An explosion of heart-shaped confetti interrupted his thoughts. "Hi J! Whatcha doin'?"  
  
Jareth groaned inwardly. "Calliope, don't you ever knock?"  
  
The muse smiled. "Do you?"  
  
"Touché. Now, is there a reason for this visit or are you just being a pest?"  
  
Calliope stuck her tongue out at the Goblin King. "Well, somebody's touchy. Actually, I *did* have a reason for visiting you. I came to ask you if you had anything to do with Caillean's little snit this morning. I went to visit her and she pert near bit my head off."  
  
Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Really? And here I thought you two were inseparable."  
  
"So did I." She shrugged. "I just figured you'd done something and I was going to come beat you. I guess you're innocent though, this time. But I do have to be going now. I just stopped by on my way to Stephan's." Her eyes took on a faraway look. "We have to discuss the upcoming holiday. C'ya later, J!" She pulled out a crystal and prepared to disappear.  
  
"Oh Calliope..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Love the confetti."  
  
* * * * * 


	2. In Love and War

Chapter One: ...In Love and War  
  
There were no dark clouds hanging overhead, no promise of a storm on the horizon. But there might as well have been; the air was fairly crackling with electricity.  
  
"Oh, let's not do anything for Valentine's Day. Let's not make a big deal out of it, he says. After all, we don't want to rush. We don't want to make a thing of it."  
  
A crystal exploded with a flash of violet light.  
  
"What's this 'we' shit?! Maybe I *want* to make a thing of it!"  
  
There was another small explosion.  
  
"Men suck, men suck, men SUCK!!!" The last word ended in a screech as yet another crystal bit the dust.  
  
With a great sigh, the Labyrinth Muse collapsed into an overstuffed chair. "Wow," she mused, with a half smile, "I feel much better."  
  
"Glad to hear it."  
  
Calliope jumped at the voice. "Wha...?"  
  
The young boy standing in her doorway smiled. "Hi Aunt Calliope!"  
  
"Cupid! What are you doing here?" She gave the youth a hug.  
  
"Adonis and Aphrodite were going at it again, so I decided to come visit you for a bit. Besides, with Valentine's Day coming up, I didn't think you'd mind" He shook his quiver of arrows suggestively.  
  
"Don't even think about it. I have enough troubles as it is without you and your blasted arrows. Caillean's in a snit, Stephan has decided we shouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day together and Jareth's being a little too quiet for comfort." She rolled her eyes.   
  
"Honestly, I don't know which one of them is worse, Jareth or Caillean. I mean, Jareth's got a massive thing for her but refuses to act on it and Caillean has feelings for him but she won't admit it. Between the two of them, I want to tear my hair out. And don't even get me started on Stephan..."  
  
Cupid just laughed. "Oh, poor Aunt Calliope. Tell you what, I'll get settled in here, why don't you go take a walk or something to calm you down?"  
  
Calliope sighed. "Actually, that sounds pretty good. You sure you'll be ok here alone?"  
  
"Yes, I'll be fine." He made a shooing motion with his hands. "Now go!"  
  
"All right, you convinced me." Laughing, she kissed his cheek. "I'll be back in an hour. Stay out of trouble."  
  
"Who, me? Trouble? Aunt Calliope, I thought you knew me better than that."  
  
"I *do* know you. That's what worries me." And with that, she started down the path through the Fiery Forest.  
  
As soon as she was out of sight, Cupid grabbed his bow and arrows. "Now then, time to go find this Jareth character."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I'm a failure as a big brother." Jareth shook his head. "Stephan, have I taught you nothing?"  
  
"But she didn't act upset. She said it didn't matter." The Fey King looked confused.  
  
Jareth rolled his eyes. "And you're supposed to be the romantic one in the family. Of *course* she said it didn't bother her! She's certainly not going to say anything to your face. Women are notoriously contrary when it comes to romance."  
  
"Then how do you know it even bothers her?" Stephan stared at his brother. "How do you know she's not ok with the idea?"  
  
"Stephan, I've seen the way you look at her and the way she looks at you. Trust me, skipping Valentine's Day is definitely *not* your best plan of action."  
  
Neither brother noticed the boy appear outside the castle window.  
  
"Ok, so which one's Jareth? Hmm, Aunt Calliope said he refused to show his feelings, so it's got to be ... him." He pulled out an arrow. "Caillean be the name of thy one and only love." And with that, he pulled the string back and let the arrow fly.  
  
Directly at the Fey King.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Stephan jumped as he felt something like a bee sting him in the chest. "What the devil?"  
  
Jareth looked at his brother like he was crazy. "What's gotten into you?"  
  
"I think something just stung me." But, just as he went to find the stinger, the pain disappeared completely. "I *thought* something just stung me."   
  
"I think you're losing it." Jareth shook his head. "Now, are you going to show the poor woman you care?"  
  
"Yes. Yes, I am." He turned to his brother and spontaneously hugged him. "Thanks Jareth, you really are a great brother."   
  
As the Goblin King watched in shock, his brother disappeared in a cloud of...  
  
Red glitter.  
  
Jareth shook his head.  
  
"Must be something in the air."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Caillean swept the last of Calliope's confetti into a dustpan and sighed with satisfaction. Finally. That was the last of it.  
  
Taking the dustpan over to the side of the room, she wondered just what had gotten into her friend. Of all the people she knew, she hardly thought Calliope would be the romantic type.   
  
"But then again, she was hell-bent on getting Jareth and I together." Caillean smiled softly as she disposed of the confetti.  
  
"Caillean."  
  
With a shriek, she spun around. "Stephan, don't do th... what the hell?" She stifled a groan as she watched the red glitter settle on her newly swept floor. "Not you too!"  
  
"What?" He smiled and began walking towards her. "I thought you would be happy to see me."  
  
"Of course I'm happy to see you Stephan, it's just that..."  
  
"Good." He cut her off by taking her into his arms.  
  
Caillean looked at the Fey King warily. "Stephan?"  
  
"I love the way you say my name."  
  
* * * * * 


	3. Playing Hard to Get

Chapter Two: Playing Hard to Get  
  
Calliope kicked at another rock on the path. Maybe she had been a little hasty with Stephan. He couldn't know that she really wanted to celebrate their first Valentine's Day together.   
  
And she hadn't been too receptive to Caillean either. Who knew the real reason she didn't like the holiday? She could have been a good friend and asked, at least.  
  
With a sigh, Calliope turned down the path and made her way towards Greywolf Manor. Caillean first.  
  
She was still a bit angry with Stephan.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Stephan, this isn't funny. Let me go!" Caillean struggled ineffectively to escape the embrace of the Fey King.   
  
He smiled down at her. "You're beautiful when you're angry."  
  
Caillean froze. "I...what?" She shook her head and continued her struggle. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but if I wasn't so mad I think I'd be laughing at you."  
  
"You know, dear, you don't have to play hard to get with me. I already know you love me."  
  
"Oh *really*?" Her eyes narrowed.  
  
He smiled. "Of course."  
  
And without another word, he kissed her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Cupid watched the King kiss his lady and sighed.   
  
"Yet another happy customer."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Calliope knocked on the door to Greywolf manor. Beezle, a small-faced goblin, pulled open the door with a frightened expression. "Oh, thank goodness it's you!"  
  
"What's wrong?" She received no answer, however, as the goblin simply dragged her down the hallway, muttering something about 'that king'. Was Jareth giving Caillean trouble again? It would only figure. At this rate, she'd need *all* of her nephew's arrows to get the two of them together.  
  
Running around the corner, Calliope wasn't prepared for the sight before her. She had never expected to see Caillean actually *kissing* the king.  
  
Not to mention the fact that she had expected a different king. She paled visibly.  
  
"Stephan?"  
  
The couple jumped apart, somewhat guiltily Calliope thought. The stunned muse opened and closed her mouth several times before she could get any words to come out. "How...? Why....?"  
  
A look of horror spread across Caillean's face. "Calliope, this isn't what it looks like!"  
  
Shaking her head, the muse backed away from her friend. "Oh really? Because I think it's *exactly* what it looks like. Well thanks so much, you two! You've made your point quite clearly. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must be going. I wouldn't want to interrupt you two any more!" And with that, she fled the room.  
  
The stunned couple stood frozen for a moment until the slamming of the front door jolted Caillean out of her trance. "Stephan...oh no, I've got to go after her!" The redhead started towards the door but the Fey King pulled her back. Confused, she turned to face him. "Stephan?"  
  
He pulled the resisting woman towards him. "Well, I certainly don't know what *she* was so upset about. Indeed, we should be upset with *her* for interrupting so rudely. Now then, I believe this was where we had left off..." Stephan again lowered his mouth to hers.  
  
Barely controlled fury flashed in Caillean's eyes as she reached back and slapped the Fey King. "Begging your pardon, _your highness_, but I really must be going."  
  
Stephan stared after Caillean's retreating back, a half-smile on his face. "She likes me."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Calliope ran blindly through the forest, the image of her closest friend and the Fey King burning in her mind. "How could they? How *could* they!" Angrily wiping a wayward tear from her cheek, she stormed up to her front door and burst inside. "Where are they!?" Her eyes searched the room wildly. "Where are those damned arrows!?!" A shaky smile spread across her face as she spotted the quiver on an end table.  
  
"Now then, let's see if I remember correctly: gold for love..." she murmured, running a finger over the shining arrow. The finger paused above the next arrow. "...And iron for indifference."  
  
Steeling her resolve, she picked up the gray metal arrow. She gave a bitter laugh. "Where nothing ever hurts again..." Turning the point of the arrow towards her heart, she smiled. "Caillean be thy name. Stephan be thy name!!" In one smooth motion, she plunged the arrow into her chest, her words ending in a shriek.  
  
"Bloody freakin' hell that stings!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Calliope?" Caillean knocked frantically on the cottage door. "Calliope, are you there? I know you're mad, but please, let me in!" With a sigh of resignation, she turned to leave. The sound of the latch stopped her in her tracks.  
  
"Sorry 'bout that. I was in the shower."  
  
Caillean turned to find her friend leaning on the doorjamb, gently toweling her hair dry. "Calliope, I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened, honestly. I was cleaning up the last of the confetti and he just burst in and -"  
  
The muse cut her off. "Caillean, it's ok."  
  
The redhead blinked in confusion. "It is?"  
  
"Yeah. You can have him, I don't care." She shrugged her shoulders.   
  
Caillean shook her head. "You don't care?" As if that wasn't the most harebrained thing she had ever heard. Of course Calliope cared. "I think Stephan's sick, or something. I don't know with him, it could just be that he thinks he's playing a trick on us or..."  
  
The muse held up a hand. "No, you don't understand Caillean, I just don't care, one way or the other. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of."  
  
"But..."  
  
The door shut soundly in her face. Immediately, Caillean reached up to pound on it once more, but stopped herself with a frustrated sigh.  
  
"Fine then, get all in a tizzy."   
  
Making a rather unladylike face at the door, Caillean turned and stormed back into the Fiery Forest.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Jareth!"  
  
The Goblin King looked up from his book and sighed. "What *now*, Stephan?  
  
"I need your help!"  
  
Jareth couldn't help but smile. "Stephan, you do realize that this is the second time in one day that you have asked me for help? I don't think you've ever done that in the past two hundred years."  
  
"Yes, yes, well..." Stephan shook his head. "That's not important. What is important is Caillean."  
  
Jareth dropped his book and sprang up from his chair. "Did something happen to her? Is she all right?"  
  
Stephan looked at his brother in shock. "No, nothing happened to her. Good lord Jareth, you look pale. Are you feeling alright?"  
  
Jareth's countenance turned decidedly stormy. "I'm fine. However, I would suggest you tell me just why you need my help before I throw you out of my house for scaring me like that."  
  
"Scaring you?" Stephan walked over to his brother. "Oh, forget it. Like I said, I need your help. I went to Caillean to tell her that I loved her and...."  
  
Jareth knew his mouth had to be dragging on the floor at the moment. His brother hadn't just said Caillean, had he? No, he must have meant Calliope. Lord knows their names were easily confused. No, there was no way in Hades great cavern that he has just said Caillean.  
  
Had he?  
  
"Did you just say you went to Caillean?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"The redhead."  
  
"More glorious red locks I have never seen."  
  
"Stephan, you prefer blondes."  
  
"She could be prematurely gray and I wouldn't love her any less." He walked over to a nearby table and inhaled a bouquet of roses with a look of pure rapture.  
  
Jareth immediately vowed to throw the flowers out the minute his brother left. "That would be nice, if you actually were in love with her."   
  
"Jareth, you are going to be no help at all, it seems."  
  
"No, not until you start behaving sensibly."  
  
"How can I when I'm in love?"  
  
Jareth sat back down in his chair, flabbergasted. His brother was a raving lunatic. The scary thing was that he seemed serious.  
  
Wait a minute. If he was serious, that means he was in love with Caillean.  
  
His Caillean.  
  
But no, she wasn't *his*.  
  
"Well", he thought. "She's not Stephan's either."  
  
He made his decision in that split second.  
  
"You want to know what to do, Stephan?"  
  
* * * * * 


	4. Harden My Heart

Chapter Three: Harden My Heart  
  
Calliope looked around the room one last time. "Finished." She smiled at her handiwork. The parlor was spotless, not a speck of dust to be found. Now, to read that book she had been meaning to get to.  
  
"Aunt Calliope!"  
  
"Cupid!" A nervous start rooted her to the spot for a moment. He didn't know, did he?  
  
The boy walked into the room, his quiver before him. "Hey Aunt Calliope, have you seen my arrow? I'm short one lead one."  
  
Ok, maybe he did.  
  
"Um, no?"  
  
The youth shot the stammering muse a look. "Aunt Calliope....?"  
  
She let out an explosive sigh. "Well, I *might* have seen it."  
  
"Where? I don't have many, because they're so powerful."  
  
"Um, I might have done more than that, actually."  
  
Cupid merely stared.  
  
"I might have used it..." Calliope gulped. "...on myself." She finished in a tiny voice.  
  
"You *what*?!?!" Cupid buried his head in his hands. "Oh, this is bad."  
  
"Bad? How bad?"  
  
"Well, I can't reverse a lead arrow." Cupid sighed. "Who did you mention when you 'took the plunge'?"  
  
Calliope sighed.  
  
"Caillean and Stephan."   
  
Cupid started. "Why them?"  
  
Calliope shrugged. "Because they were kissing each other."  
  
Cupid shook his head and muttered to himself. "I thought that was the whole point."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"Oh, nothing." The gears began to turn. Did he shoot the wrong man? Oh dear. He must have. That meant he had only one option. He had to shoot Calliope and make her fall in love with the other guy! But how could he do it and not have her notice? He thought for a moment.  
  
Then, he smiled.  
  
* * * * *   
  
"Do you think that will work, Jareth?"  
  
"Of course it will." Jareth smiled at his companion; with rage or humor only he and the angels knew.  
  
"She'll be swept of her feet."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Caillean attacked the rosebush once more with her shears. Everyone was getting on her nerves today. Well, everyone except Jareth, but he hadn't come by yet for a visit.  
  
"Murderer!"  
  
She sighed. Crawling under a rock wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. "Yes Bertha?"  
  
The Goblin-Gardener came running out of the greenhouse. "You've killed it!"  
  
Caillean turned back to the rosebush and sighed. Perhaps calling it a rosebush wasn't such a good idea anymore. More like rose-twig. She dropped the shears to the ground and turned sheepishly to the goblin.  
  
"I'm sorry Bertha, it's just that I..."  
  
"Caillean, my love!"  
  
She was glad she had dropped the shears or else she may have felt inclined to use them. She turned to see Stephan standing there.  
  
Her jaw dropped.  
  
The Fey King was clad, from head to toe, in shades of red and pink. Red tights gave way to a pink ruffled blouse and red velvet jacket. There were even streaks of red in his hair. In his arms, he held a giant bouquet of red roses. As a smile spread across his face, Caillean felt her hopes plummet. This was going to be ugly, she could tell.  
  
"Since we were so rudely interrupted before, I thought you might like to give it another try..." he trailed off suggestively.  
  
Caillean jumped to her feet. She grabbed the discarded shears and brandished them at the grinning king. "Stephan, so help me, if you take one more step -"  
  
Stephan chuckled. "You'll what? Prune me?" He shook his head. "Caillean, Caillean, why must you deny what we both know to be true?" With a flick of his wrist, both roses and shears disappeared.  
  
Caillean let out a shriek and did what any sensible woman confronted by a supernatural being hell-bent on seducing her would have done: she turned tail and ran.  
  
"Well, Jareth *did* say she would play hard-to-get." He smiled. "But I can remedy that." The Fey King waved his hand in the air and a pair of handcuffs appeared. "Oh, Caillean, come out, come out, wherever you are!"  
  
And with that, the grinning king started into the woods after her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Calliope stood up and calmly brushed her hands off. "There. I'd been meaning to get the flower beds weeded." Looking around, she noticed the coming twilight. "And just in time, too." Humming softly to herself, she started towards the cottage, smiling at the fireflies that gathered around her head.  
  
She never noticed her nephew appear behind her, arrow held ready.  
  
As she placed her hand on the doorknob, the door swung open on its own. She frowned. "I would swear I shut the door behind me. Oh well, it's not like anyone would break in or anyth..." Her breath caught at the sight before her.  
  
The interior of the cottage had been transformed into a fairyland of candlelight and rose petals. In the soft glow of candles, the air seemed to fairly shimmer. "Oh, goodness..."  
  
She never felt the golden arrow as it pierced her heart, only felt the warmth spread through her body.  
  
"Calliope."  
  
Her heart stopped at the voice, deep and full of dark promises. Slowly, she turned and lost her breath once again.  
  
Behind her stood the Goblin King, darkly seductive in midnight blue. He opened his arms and she went willingly into the embrace, a soft sigh escaping her lips before the rest of the room faded away.  
  
In the darkness outside the cottage, Cupid smiled. It was time for the second half of the plan to be put into effect.  
  
* * * * * 


	5. Caught and Then Some

Chapter Four: Caught!...And Then Some  
  
Gasping for breath, Caillean staggered into the clearing. She didn't know what had made her run to the cottage, but she hoped Calliope would hide her. The interior of the cottage was dark, so she crept quietly up to the window. If Calliope was asleep, she didn't want to wake her. Heaven knew Calliope was already mad enough at her.  
  
Careful not to make any noise, Caillean peeked through the small window.  
  
And froze at the sight within.  
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
Calliope was kissing the Goblin King  
  
*Her* Goblin King.  
  
As she started around the house, heading for the door, she caught sight of a small figure hidden in the bushes.  
  
It was Cupid.  
  
And he was smiling.  
  
"I have a very bad feeling about this." She started towards the youth. "Cupid!"  
  
The smile vanished, to be replaced by a look of panic. "Oh dear." Cupid started to stand. "Caillean, I can explain -"  
  
Both of them froze as a loud **click** broke the relative silence of the glade.  
  
"Gotcha!"  
  
With a feeling of dread, Caillean turned to find herself face to face with Stephan. He smiled and held up an arm.  
  
An arm that was handcuffed to hers.  
  
"Damn."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Mmmmm."  
  
Calliope's eyes fluttered open. That had to have been the most amazing kiss she had ever experienced. If she had previously had any idea that Jareth was such a great kisser...  
  
Wait a moment.  
  
She found herself staring into an amazing pair of blue eyes.  
  
They weren't Jareth's.  
  
In fact....  
  
"Adonis?!?"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Cupid watched as Caillean began to drag Stephan over to where he stood, quiver in hand. He gulped. Why, oh why did things never turn out right for him? Couldn't love be *easy* once and awhile?  
  
"So, that isn't Jareth?"  
  
"No. I asked Adonis to pose as him for a while. To, ah... give me some time to straighten things out with you."  
  
"Cupid. Eros, dear." Caillean's voice was sweet, but her eyes were positively angry. "Just what do you have to say about *this*?" She held up the hand currently attached to Stephan's.  
  
"I hope he says it was fate." Stephan murmured dreamily behind her.  
  
"Oh, do shut up! I don't see what Calliope ever saw in you."  
  
"Calli who?"  
  
Caillean ignored him and merely glared at Cupid.  
  
The winged boy shrugged. "What? I have arrows, not keys."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Adonis?" The muse jumped back a few steps and stared at the god she had just been... oh dear, had she just been kissing Adonis? Aphrodite would *kill* her if she found out about it. "I thought you were Jareth."  
  
"I know." The young man held up his hands in entreaty. "It was all Cupid's idea, I swear!"   
  
"Cupid?" She frowned. "Just what does cupid have to do with this?"  
  
"Maybe you should ask him." Adonis walked over to a cottage window. "Or maybe not. He seems to have his hands full at the moment."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Caillean shook her head and put her free arm in front of the King of the Fey. "Stephan. This is not the way to a girl's heart." She turned her head angrily to Cupid. "Tell him, Arrow Boy."  
  
Cupid looked up at the couple and smiled. "Ah... yes... ah, she's right you know." He gulped. "The best way to a woman's heart is...ah..." He looked back at Caillean, a question in his expression.  
  
"I should have known." She sighed. "You have no idea, do you?"  
  
"I don't have to - the arrows work just fine for me."  
  
Exasperated, she turned to Stephan, who was now trying to twine the fingers of his free hand through her hair. "Stop that."  
  
"But your hair is so lovely. Like a sunset, all ruddy gold and red."  
  
"Stephan, you hate red hair."  
  
"That's what I was trying to tell him." Came a new voice from the clearing. "But it seems that he's either changed his mind, or been convinced otherwise. Oh, hello Cupid." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't suppose *you* have anything to do with this, do you?"  
  
"I ah...well, that is, I..."  
  
"That's what I thought." He turned back to the connected couple and shook his head. "Well, well, what have we here?"  
  
"Jareth!" Stephan called out. "It didn't work."  
  
Caillean's head swerved to meet the Goblin King's gaze. "What does he mean by that?"  
  
Jareth waved a hand. "I don't know, my dear." The handcuffs disappeared.  
  
Caillean rubbed at her wrist. "Damn, that actually hurt."  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry my love." Stephan made a grab for her wrist. "Here, I shall kiss it and make it better."  
  
"No!!!" Caillean did something she never thought she would do in her life: she hid behind Jareth. "No, you just stay over there."  
  
Just then, the cottage door opened, and Calliope came out. Her eyes instantly alighted on the Goblin King.  
  
"Jareth, my love!"  
  
The Goblin King turned his attention from the redhead cowering behind him to the blond barreling towards him. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
The muse launched herself into Jareth's arms, showering his face with kisses. Cupid seemed to shrink on himself and started inching towards the cottage, only to be picked up by Adonis.  
  
"And just where do you think *you're* going??"  
  
Cupid cringed. "Um, away?"  
  
"Wrong answer! No, I think you've got some explaining to do." Adonis looked at the Goblin King, who had finally managed to extricate himself from the grasping muse. "Jareth?"  
  
The king conjured up a crystal and the group suddenly found themselves in the throne room. "Now then," Jareth turned to Cupid. "You probably want to start explaining now."  
* * * * * 


	6. Weep Not for the Memories

Chapter 5: Weep Not For the Memories  
  
Cupid squirmed. "I was just trying to help..."  
  
"Next time, mind your own business, you little pipsqueak!" Caillean snapped from the other side of the room.  
  
Calliope glared at her. "That's my nephew you're talking to!"  
  
Caillean laughed. "Figures you two would be related somehow."  
  
"Ladies, ladies. Can we wait until *after* things get straightened out, please?" Adonis looked from Calliope to Caillean. "Cupid, continue."  
  
"Yes, well, as I said, I was just trying to help. Aunt Calliope seemed so unhappy, what with Stephan ignoring Valentine's Day and Caillean and Jareth always fighting that I couldn't resist. It *is* my job, after all. So I went to the castle to shoot Jareth."  
  
"Which you obviously didn't." Calliope remarked.  
  
"No, I got confused and shot his highness Stephan, instead. So when I found out what I'd done, I meant to go back and reverse the arrow, but then I found out that Aunt Calliope had already shot herself, so I didn't know what to do."  
  
Caillean cut in. "Wait - what do you mean Calliope shot herself?" She looked over to where the muse was trying (unsuccessfully) to snuggle up to Jareth.  
  
The youth stared at the ground. "Well, she was so upset over you and Stephan that she used one of my lead arrows." He paused. "They're not reversible."  
  
The room fell silent as everyone digested this latest bit of news.  
  
Finally, Stephan broke the silence. "So you mean I don't really love Caillean?"  
  
Cupid shook his head. "No, you love her. But not because of anything she did. It's all because of the arrow. And easily reversed."  
  
Jareth looked pointedly at the . "But that still doesn't explain why Calliope seems to think she's in love with *me*."  
  
"Oh, yes, that. Well, you see, I thought maybe by making Calliope fall for you, Caillean would , er ... oh, it seemed like a good idea at the time!"  
  
Caillean slapped Stephan's hand as he tried, yet again, to play with her hair. "So why was she kissing Adonis? And, better yet, why did he look like you?"  
  
Adonis laughed. "Oh, that one's easy to explain. Jareth wanted to make you jealous."   
  
If looks could kill, the demigod wouldn't have stood a chance. Jareth looked daggers at the grinning youth. "I most certainly did not!"  
  
Adonis rolled his eyes. "Whatever..."  
  
"Anyhow," Jareth said, glaring at the youth. "We have more important things to deal with." He looked over at Calliope, who was still staring at him with stars in her eyes. "Will you please stop that!"  
  
Calliope looked hurt. "But, my love..."  
  
"I am *not* your love. Cupid, please do something!"  
  
Cupid sighed. "Ok, I'll do what I can." Pulling out another golden arrow, he murmured a few words in Greek and then broke the arrow neatly in half. "That should do it."  
  
Caillean turned to face the Fey King. "Darling?"  
  
Stephan looked at her in confusion. "Caillean, it's me, Stephan. Are you feeling ok?"  
  
The redhead blushed. "Hm, guess it worked."  
  
Cupid shrugged. "I forgot to tell you, they'll have no memory of anything they did while under the arrow's spell." He looked over to where his aunt was shaking her head. "Aunt Calliope?"  
  
She looked up at him. "What's going on here? And why am I sitting at Jareth's feet?"  
  
"Long story." He looked around at the others. "Can we have some privacy?"  
  
Silently, Jareth, Stephan, Adonis and Caillean filed out of the throne room. Cupid walked over to where Calliope was sitting at the base of the throne. "Calliope, tell me what you remember."  
  
She frowned. "I was weeding the garden and I went to go back inside and then - nothing."  
  
Cupid sighed. "You remember stabbing yourself with the lead arrow?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Caillean and Stephan were completely innocent. I went to shoot Jareth to make him show his feeling for Caillean and I shot his brother instead. That was why Stephan was chasing your friend. But before I could fix things, you took matter, well, into your own hands."  
  
Calliope raised her hands to her face. "Oh goodness. So now what do we do? You said lead arrows were irreversible."  
  
"They are. There's nothing I can do."  
  
"But there is something *I* can do."  
  
The pair looked up at the new voice. "Aprhodite!" Calliope stood to embrace her sister.  
  
The Goddess of Love looked sadly at the muse. "You may not be so happy to see me once you hear what I have to say. There is a way to reverse the effects of a lead arrow."  
  
Calliope looked at her expectantly. "Well?"  
  
"We can erase your memories of Caillean and Stephan. What you do not know, you cannot feel indifference for."  
  
The muse froze. "You mean..."  
  
Aprhodite shook her head. "It will be like you never met them. You'll basically be starting from scratch, rebuilding the friendships."  
  
Calliope looked from mother to son and drew a deep breath. "Do it."  
  
* * * * *  
Far away, beyond the boundaries of the Goblin Kingdom, a lone figure stood, watching the scene unfolding. An evil grin spread across his face. "Oh, it's simply too easy. Yes, young muse. Forget them, forget all about them. But remember me, for you will soon be mine. And then Jareth will pay."  
  
FIN 


End file.
